(This October 1 story has been corrected to say Gjovik sued Apple (NASDAQ:) last year, not in May, in paragraph 9)
By Daniel Wiessner
(Reuters) – A U.S. labor board has filed a complaint accusing Apple of violating workers’ rights to organize and advocate for better working conditions by enforcing a series of unlawful workplace rules.
The National Labor Relations Board alleges in the complaint announced late Monday that Apple required employees across the country to sign illegal confidentiality, non-disclosure and non-compete agreements and imposed overly broad misconduct and social media policies.
The complaint accuses Apple of “interfering, restricting and coercing employees in the exercise of” their rights under federal labor law.
Apple said in a spokesperson statement that it has always respected the rights of its employees to discuss wages, hours and working conditions, which is reflected in its employment policies.
“We strongly disagree with these allegations and will continue to share the facts at the hearing,” the company said.
If Apple does not settle the case, the case will be heard by an administrative judge starting in January. The agency wants to require Apple to rescind the allegedly unlawful rules and notify its entire U.S. workforce of their legal rights.
The decisions of administrative judges can be reviewed by the five-member Labor Board, whose rulings can be appealed to federal appeals courts.
The complaint stems from charges filed against Apple in 2021 by Ashley Gjovik, a former senior engineering manager at the company. Gjovik said several Apple rules, including those related to confidentiality and social media use, prevent employees from discussing issues such as pay equality and gender discrimination with each other and the media.
Gjovik also filed a lawsuit in California federal court last year, accusing Apple of illegally retaliating against it for filing the NLRB complaints, which the company has denied. A judge on Tuesday dismissed most of Gjovik’s lawsuit, while giving her a chance to amend some of her claims.
The company faces at least two other pending NLRB cases alleging it fired an employee at its Cupertino, California, headquarters for criticizing managers and illegally interfering with a union campaign at an Atlanta store. The company has denied wrongdoing.
The NLRB ruled in May that the manager of an Apple Store in Manhattan unlawfully questioned an employee about his support for a union. Two Apple stores in the US have been unionized since 2022, and unions are working to organize several other locations.
